BMA: Beitbridge child trafficking incident 'what we deal with on a daily basis'

The Beitbridge Border Post in Musina, Limpopo. Picture: @PresidencyZA/X

Head of the Border Management Authority (BMA), Mike Masiapato, said that the interception of the attempted trafficking of more than 400 children from Zimbabwe into South Africa over the weekend was an example of what they’re dealing with on a daily basis.

On Sunday, Masiapato briefed the media on the BMA’s state of readiness ahead of the festive season.

During the briefing, he revealed that on Saturday they found some 443 children in buses at the Beitbridge border post, whom they say were in the process of being trafficked into the country.

Masiapato spoke to 702’s Bongani Bingwa on Monday morning: "What we always do is that firstly in those instances, especially in those instances, especially when people are ferrying people who don’t have the proper documents to enter the country, we charge the driver for aiding and abetting and we also charge them for the individuals."

He said, however, that wresting control of the problem was challenging.

"But the difficulty we’re having, sometimes we even ban the buses, but the other day they’ll come with another bus, with a different number plate. So it’s a very difficult issue and this is what we deal with on a daily basis."

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